Anthony Anderson, D.J. Qualls, Elise Neal, Isaac Hayes, Juicy J ...( see more  see more... ) , Ludacris , Paula Jai Parker , Taraji P. Henson , Taryn Manning , Terrence Howard

DJay, a streetwise Memphis hustler tries to find a voice and realize his long-buried dreams. Though DJay has always had a way with words, that gift has long been misused; this philosopher-hustler live...( read more  read more... )s a dead-end life at the fringes of society. Anything more feels out of reach. Still, DJay wonders what happened to all the big dreams he had for his life. A chance encounter with an old friend, Key, a sound engineer who has always wanted to make it in the music business, spurs DJay: if he's ever going to make his mark, it has to happen now. He begins to write down his freestyle raps -- his flow -- and the two team up with Shelby, a church musician with a beat machine, to lay down bass-thumping crunk tracks. DJay's metamorphosis affects his entire house, as the women in his life -- Shug and Nola -- find ways to contribute to the creative process. With the impending visit to Memphis of hometown platinum-selling rapper Skinny Black, DJay has to make one last hustle if he's ever going to flow.

Flixster Users

81% liked it

106,647 ratings

Critics

82% liked it

149 critics

R, 1 hr. 54 min.

Directed by: Craig Brewer

Release Date: July 22, 2005

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DVD Release Date: January 10, 2006

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Stats: 5,281 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (5,281)


  • June 17, 2008
    Well rounded and complex characters that feel like the real deal. Terrence Howard is brilliant and the music is memmorable.
  • April 7, 2008
    I loved this movie, i was so stubborn 2 keep from watchin it but im glad i did, i thought it was a great story, with fascinating characters, fantastically made. Its just a good movie man. i loved it
  • January 27, 2008
    Personal belief: Rap (or Hip-Hop, whatever) for me is like... garbage. I don't consider it music. As far as I'm concerned it's anti-music. Which is why it was difficult for me to enjoy this film. However, I know a good film when I see it and Hustle & Flow is one. Unfolds i...( read more)n the classic and satisfying fashion of Hollywood films that strike a balance between grit and heart, capturing the hard edge of poverty and lack of opportunity but also offering a ray of hope for a better life. Terrence Howard's star-making performance is more than half of the film. A good film, except for the whole Rap part.
  • July 28, 2007
    I wasn't sure what I'd think of tis film, but I wanted to see it because of how highly it's been praised. I don't consider myself into the rap culture much, although I do listen to some, but Hustle & Flow creates its own fully vibrant world that really wraps you up in it. It take...( read more)s place in the south, and involves a pimp, Djay (Terence Howard), who finds himself in a position to fulfill his dream of being a rapper, and decides to do something about it. I can see how this would be an unsavory film for some people. The main character is a pimp, after all. But, in the end, this is a very honest film about a very true part of society that has fallen to the bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder, and it tracks its characters with honesty and compassion and though they aren't, from a social standpoint, good people - Hustle & Flow makes you understand that sometimes you let yourself fall into a life you're not happy with because you have to in order to get by, and you have the power to change it, which is what they attempt to do. So if you can't tell already, I really liked this movie. Terence Howard turns in a powerful performance that makes me respect him a lot as an actor (he was one of the few things I liked about Crash). The director even gets good performances out of D.J. Qualls and Anthony Anderson, who are usually "Oh, that guy!" comedic fare actors. The directing is pretty good, and the music is fantastic. You will probably be as in to the songs as the characters are when creating them - "Whoop that trick - get 'em." JUstle & Flow is a very good film, I recommend it.
  • July 26, 2007
    It had the opportunity to explore a lot more issues that it touches on, and those that sort of flicker by but aren't addressed. However, I dug it. I cared about the characters, the end was amazing (now what did we learn, haha), and I thought that it was constructive on a societ...( read more)al level. Ridiculed and often unseen stuff by many demographics was put out there, humanized, not as scary, but certainly not rosy. And I mean, c'mon, go a movie that gets a song like "It's hard out here for a pimp" to win an Academy Award! FUCKING AWESOME! (And I don't mean that in a novelty sense - I think it was a great song, and I'd love to see a lot of R&B and rap or what have you seen for the high art form that it can be. Many, without even always realizing, call a culture trash and dispicable, how tragic.)
  • February 7, 2010
    what can i say its hard out here for a pimp.. thought this movie was really gritty and interesting and catchy songs
  • January 30, 2010
    I never thought I'd see the day that I could appreciate a Hip Hop movie to the same level as an Oscar-nominated movie, but this is just a must-see!
  • January 3, 2010
    love it..especially that one song they sang..its hard in dis world for a pimp...oooo god and issac hayes wow
  • December 15, 2009
    A Memphis pimp attempts to launch a career as a rapper. That is basically it but the story goes further it tells you that is not that easy to become a rapper and since a famous rapper is coming back to the south that is the opportunity that DJay will use to launch his career but ...( read more)it isn't as easy as that either and we can see the struggles that he and his friends and (family) I don't know how to call them hoes!! maybe! female workers!! and where it takes it's toll. But everyone should have a dream!

    DJay (Terrence Howard) is a streetwise hustler and Memphis pimp with a stable of 3 girls, Shug (Taraji Henson) who is pregnant and not working, Lexus (Paula Jai Parker) who works in a strip club, and Nola (Taryn Manning) who works out of DJay's old beat-up car in a back alley. Even with two girls working and DJay selling dirt-weed on the side, it is hard for them to make ends meet. The utility company is about to shut off their utilities, if they don't pay the bill. DJay feels that he has hit rock bottom, and he needs a change in his life. A bum trades him a Casio keyboard for some weed, and DJay takes it home. While playing the keys, DJay gets an inspiration to write rap music. He begins to write down his pimping style raps, his flow, in a little notebook while Nola is turning tricks. DJay runs into Key (Anthony Anderson), an old friend and sound engineer, who takes him to a church choir performance that reaches DJay's soul. DJay looks inside his soul and decides to get out of the business, and now he has a dream of becoming a rapper. DJay teams up with Key to make a demo song. Skinny Black (Ludacris) is a platinum selling rapper about to return to Memphis for the 4th of July. DJay believes he can hustle Skinny to hear his tape, and his dream will come true.

    An aspiring emcee from the Dirty South who is trying to make it in the hip-hop world has to deal with many different types of people who try to bring him down, including strippers, his baby's mama, and all the things that try to keep a player down. This is probably his last chance to make it: he is approaching his 40s, and his life is looking downhill.

    Aspiring emcee DJay works the angles to get his first record made with help from assorted people in his Memphis 'hood. And when he hears that hip-hop superstar Skinny Black is heading to his area, he throws together a supreme hustle to grab Skinny's attention.

    DJay, a streetwise Memphis hustler tries to find a voice and realize his long-buried dreams. Though DJay has always had a way with words, that gift has long been misused; this philosopher-hustler live...( read more )s a dead-end life at the fringes of society. Anything more feels out of reach. Still, DJay wonders what happened to all the big dreams he had for his life. A chance encounter with an old friend, Key, a sound engineer who has always wanted to make it in the music business, spurs DJay: if he's ever going to make his mark, it has to happen now. He begins to write down his freestyle raps -- his flow -- and the two team up with Shelby, a church musician with a beat machine, to lay down bass-thumping crunk tracks. DJay's metamorphosis affects his entire house, as the women in his life -- Shug and Nola -- find ways to contribute to the creative process. With the impending visit to Memphis of hometown platinum-selling rapper Skinny Black, DJay has to make one last hustle if he's ever going to flow.
  • November 12, 2009
    Keep ALL your Dreams ALIVE! Excellent movie!

Critic Reviews


July 22, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Hustle & Flow suspends you in its spell of mood, of feeling, of climate. It's a pop picture that finds its richness in peeling down to the essentials of good storytelling. full review

July 22, 2005
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Every now and then, Brewer pulls off a near-miracle with his flinty characters: He lets us, for a moment, slip into their lives -- and sing their song. full review

July 22, 2005
David Edelstein, NPR's Fresh Air

What's missing in this self-proclaimed story of redemption, though, is something other than a fairy-tale finale. It's the sense that the filmmaker understands the consequences of exploiting women even... full review

July 21, 2005
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Howard takes a character that might have been a caricature and makes him real -- sometimes icy, sometimes fiery, sometimes slick, sometimes passionate. full review

July 21, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Terrence Howard modulates Djay with great love and consideration for the character. He never cheapens him, or condescends. He builds him inside-out. full review

July 21, 2005
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Craig Brewer's first feature film is a volatile mixture of slickness and sincerity, hard-edged naturalism and sheer show-business hokum. full review

July 21, 2005
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

The film's supporting characters are as rich as the lead, each one of them chasing an unlikely dream. full review

July 14, 2005
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

... explosive entertainment. full review

July 11, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Subtly glosses over the most despicable elements of [its] protagonist's behavior. full review

View more Hustle & Flow reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • pavacri23
    April 22, 2008
    not bad this movie shows the things that you have to do to ge tyour dreams.
  • haxc100
    December 12, 2007
    if terrence howard we r e a rapper he'd have to be one of those bourgeoi ones like kanye i can see them now with don cheedle
  • Montel5teddy
    May 24, 2007
    he should be a rapper
  • robert2beith
    May 1, 2007
    the film is brillant and i like the music in it
  • lilmommas131
    March 24, 2007
    i love this movie its for true thugs n n*e*body but like poeple say its hard out here for a pimp...LOL il ove this movie i can watch it over and over and never get tired of it i love the DRAMA ~n~ MUSIC
  • gunitlady
    January 24, 2007
    Dalm it is hard out here for a PIMP..lol.. I like this movie, it's a pretty good film. I luv the music in it!
  • MECreviews
    September 28, 2006
    I loved the music in this movie. Great film.
  • crapman106
    May 30, 2006
    Terrence Howard owns all. Watch this movie!!!

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Hustle & Flow Trivia


  • What was Ludacris's rap name is the movie Hustle & Flow?  Answer »
  • Which actor had his car blown up in Road Trip, went to prison in The New Guy, and made rap music in Hustle & Flow?  Answer »
  • In which movie did Terrance Howard knock out Ludacris?  Answer »
  • You know it's hard out here for a pimp When he tryin to get this money for the rent For the Cadillacs and gas money spent Because a whole lot of bitches talkin shit   Answer »

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